Chatteris Town council is standing in solidarity with Manea following appalling ‘criminality’ from hare coursers

A town council has offered its support to a neighbouring village following a weekend of “appalling criminality” that wreaked havoc across Fenland.

At their meeting on Tuesday night, Chatteris town councillors agreed with a motion put by Cllr Alan Gowler that the council stands in solidarity with Manea.

Cllr Gowler was among a number of Chatteris councillors to attend an emergency public meeting called in Manea following shocking events involving hare coursers in the village on Saturday, January 25.

He said: “What I was hearing at that meeting was totally shocking. We need to confirm we are standing in solidarity with Manea.

“We had some incidents in Chatteris, including one involving one of our councillors at her place of work. What happened that weekend was totally unacceptable.

“The police at the meeting in Manea admitted they were at fault.”

Councillors agreed to send a letter of solidarity to Manea Parish Council expressing the council’s sympathy with what happened.

Saturday, January 25, saw convoys of hare coursers rampaging across Fenland, but largely centred on Manea.

They wrecked fields and intimidated the public, and caused damage to vehicles including a car belonging to Manea farmer Robert Sears.

Another incident saw them completely surround the home of a Sutton Gault farmer who was forced to barricade his young family in their home while 70 balaclava-clad men took over the family’s farm.